中國留美研究生簽證限制引發科研界擔憂

WASHINGTON — President Trump’s confrontation with China is beginning to ripple through American academic and research institutions, as a crackdown on visas for certain Chinese citizens has left the higher education community wondering how it will adapt to the administration’s effort to stop intellectual property theft and slow China’s push for technological supremacy.

華盛頓——特朗普總統與中國的對峙已開始波及美國學術和研究機構，政府限制某些中國公民簽證的做法，讓高等教育界不知該如何適應政府阻止知識產權盜竊、遏制中國追求技術霸權的行動。

Educators and academic groups fear that the additional scrutiny could hinder scientific innovation, alienate talented applicants or intensify aggressions toward Chinese scientists already in the country.

教育工作者和學術團體擔心，更多的審查可能會阻礙科學創新，讓有才華的申請者怯步，或加劇對已在美國的華裔科學家的打擊。

Academics are already wrestling with the increased attention. At an aerospace conference in Georgia last month, Ella Atkins, a University of Michigan professor, recalled a colleague approaching her with a dilemma.

更多的關注已經讓學者們疲於應對。上個月，在佐治亞州的一次航空航天會議上，密歇根大學(University of Michigan)教授埃拉·阿特金斯(Ella Atkins)回憶起一位同事就一個兩難問題向她徵求意見的事情。

The colleague, an assistant professor at another university, had recently led and submitted a research proposal for a federal grant. But he worried that because he was Chinese, the judges would be biased against his team.

那位同事是另一所大學的助理教授，最近帶領一個研究團隊向聯邦政府提交了一份項目資助申請。但他擔心評審者會對他的團隊有偏見，因爲他是華人。

“He said, ‘I need to figure out how to take myself off as the P.I., the principal investigator, if that’s going to compromise our project’s chances of being accepted,’” Ms. Atkins said, declining to name the academic for fear of jeopardizing his proposal. The professor, she added, was even considering withdrawing from the project completely to avoid holding back his co-researchers.

“他說，‘我需要想個辦法不當項目的主要研究者，如果那會降低我們的項目獲得資助的機會的話，’”阿特金斯說，由於擔心損害他的項目申請，她拒絕透露該學者的姓名。她補充說，那位教授甚至考慮徹底退出項目，以避免妨礙他的研究合作者。

It is a sentiment that some, such as Representative Judy Chu, Democrat of California, believe underscores a tone of racism behind the policy change. The restrictions, she said, equate to targeting “an entire ethnic group of people for suspicion that they’re spies for China.”

一些人認爲，這個政策變化顯露的情緒突顯了其背後的種族主義色彩。比如，加州民主黨衆議員趙美心(Judy Chu)說，這些限制等同於把目標指向“一整個族羣的人，懷疑他們都是中國間諜”。

“I think we should take specific security threats seriously, but each of those threats should be identified by the threat, not by racial groups,” said Ms. Chu, the chairwoman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

“我認爲，我們應該認真對待具體的安全威脅，但每個威脅的判定應該以威脅本身爲依據，而不是以種族羣體爲依據，”趙美心說。她是國會亞太裔美國人黨團(Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus)主席。

Since June 11, the State Department has been restricting visas for Chinese graduate students studying in sensitive research fields to one year, with the chance to reapply every year. The move rolls back an Obama-era policy that allowed Chinese citizens to secure five-year student visas.

自6月11日起，美國國務院已把在敏感研究領域學習的中國研究生的簽證有效期限制爲一年，這些學生每年有機會重新申請簽證。此舉推翻了奧巴馬時代允許中國公民獲得五年學生簽證的政策。

Le Fang, a Ph.D. student from China studying computer science at the University at Buffalo, locked up a five-year F-1 visa in 2015. But the new policy could hurt his friends whose visas recently expired, he said. They may have to fly back to China to get new visas, and they risk denials partway through their academic career.

在布法羅大學(University at Buffalo)攻讀計算機科學的中國博士生方樂（音）已在2015年拿到了爲期五年的F1簽證。但他說，新政策可能會讓他的朋友們遭殃，他們的簽證最近到期了。他們可能不得不飛回中國去申請新簽證，在自己的學業未完成時面臨被拒籤的危險。

“I quite understand the security concern of the possible restriction,” Mr. Fang said, but “most of us never talk about politics and never work with mainland people.”

“我很理解可能的限制背後的安全關切，”方樂說，“但我們中的大多數從來不談論政治，也從不與大陸人合作。”

The American intelligence community, however, has increasingly seen the country’s academic institutions as vulnerable to espionage, in part because they provide a collaborative environment where cutting-edge research and technology are openly handled and developed.

但越來越多的美國情報界人士認爲，美國學術機構容易遭間諜滲透，部分原因是學術機構提供了一種合作的環境，前沿的研究和技術在這裏是公開運作和開發的。

At a Senate hearing in February, Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, warned lawmakers of China’s efforts to undermine the United States’ economy and security through “the use of nontraditional collectors, especially in the academic setting.”

在參議院今年2月的一個聽證會上，美國聯邦調查局局長克里斯托弗·雷(Christopher Wray)警告美國國會議員說，中國破壞美國經濟和安全的努力包括通過“使用非傳統的採集者，特別是學術領域的”。

“One of the things we’re trying to do,” Mr. Wray added, “is view the China threat as not just a whole-of-government threat, but a whole-of-society threat on their end. And I think it’s going to take a whole-of-society response by us.”

“我們正在努力做的一件事是，”雷補充說，“不僅要把中國的威脅視爲針對整個政府的威脅，而且要將其視爲他們對整個社會構成的威脅。我認爲，這將需要我們拿出一個全社會的響應。”

And a White House report last month detailing China’s “economic aggression” criticized recruiting efforts that aim to lure experts, academics and entrepreneurs from abroad to prestigious Chinese research institutions and universities. The National Intelligence Council has accused one such program, the Thousand Talents plan, of facilitating “the legal and illicit transfer of U.S. technology, intellectual property and know-how” to China.

白宮上個月發佈的一份詳細報告描述了中國的“經濟侵略”，批評了中國旨在將海外的專家、學者和企業家吸引到中國知名研究機構和大學的招聘項目。美國國家情報委員會(National Intelligence Council)曾指責這些項目之一的“千人計劃”，方便了“美國技術、知識產權和專有技術（向中國）的合法和非法轉讓”。

But Chinese graduate students are largely seeking better opportunities for themselves, said Jenny Lee, a University of Arizona professor who studies international student mobility.

但亞利桑那大學(University of Arizona)研究國際學生流動性的教授珍妮·李(Jenny Lee)說，中國研究生在很大程度上是在爲自己尋找更好的機會。

A National Science Foundation study published last year found that from 2005 to 2015, nearly nine of 10 Chinese students who had earned Ph.D.s intended to remain in the United States.

美國國家科學基金會(National Science Foundation)去年發表的一項研究發現，從2005年到2015年間，在美國獲得博士學位的中國學生有近90%打算留在美國。

Ms. Lee said the new restrictions could deter foreign students from enrolling in American universities. “Why would a student be willing to commit to a U.S. degree without a guarantee that they would have a steady visa?” she said.

珍妮·李說，新的限制措施可能會妨礙外國學生進入美國大學學習。“不保證他們能持續得到簽證的話，學生憑什麼下決心在美國攻讀學位呢？”她說。

The policy takes into account only the risks of foreign students studying in the United States, without acknowledging the “incredible positive side,” according to Stephen A. Orlins, the president of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.

美中關係全國委員會(National Committee on U.S.-China Relations)會長歐倫斯(Stephen A. Orlins)說，這種政策只考慮了外國學生留學美國的風險，不承認其“極大的正面作用”。

One of those benefits, said Yolanda Gil, director of knowledge technologies at the University of Southern California’s Information Sciences Institute, is the supply of talent and innovation that international students provide.

其中的一個好處是國際學生提供了人才和創新，南加州大學(University of Southern California)信息科學研究所的知識技術主任約蘭達·吉爾(Yolanda Gil)說。

It would be “a great loss,” she said, not to be able to interact with and learn from Chinese graduate students and visiting scholars at research conferences, where they regularly present projects and contribute to larger innovations in artificial intelligence.

她說，如果不能在學術會議上與中國研究生和訪問學者交流、向他們學習的話，那將是“一個巨大的損失”，中國研究生和訪問學者經常在學術會議上報告自己的研究項目，爲人工智能領域的創新做出了很大貢獻。

Another advantage is financial. In 2016, the more than one million international students studying at colleges and universities in the United States contributed $39 billion to the American economy, according to the Institute of International Education. Almost a third of those students were from China.

財務方面也有好處。據國際教育學院(Institute of International Education)的數據，2016年，在美國的大學和學院就讀的100多萬名國際學生爲美國經濟貢獻了390億美元。國際學生中有近三分之一來自中國。

The visa restrictions are the latest example of how Mr. Trump’s hard-line approach to immigration has touched higher education. His ban on travel from certain mostly Muslim nations has raised concerns about scientific research being stifled, and his administration announced in May that it would crack down on international students who overstay their visas. And some experts have cited the country’s uncertain political climate as a reason enrollment of first-time international students declined last fall.

高等教育深受特朗普在移民問題上的強硬立場影響，簽證限制是這一點的最新例證。特朗普針對一些主要以穆斯林爲主的國家的旅行禁令已經引發了人們對科學研究受到壓制的擔憂。他的政府還在今年5月宣佈，將嚴懲那些簽證過期後滯留美國的留學生。一些專家將美國不確定的政治氣候作爲去年秋季首次來美唸書的國際學生人數下降的原因。

The shift is also another setback in the United States’ relationship with China, coming amid a trade fight between Washington and Beijing that shows no signs of abating. The Trump administration has said the tariffs it has imposed on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods are necessary to curb the unfair trade practices and intellectual property theft that threaten the United States’ economy and national security.

簽證政策改變的同時，華盛頓與北京的貿易較量沒有任何緩和跡象，此舉是美中關係受挫的又一表現。特朗普政府說，爲遏制不公平的貿易以及威脅美國經濟和國家安全的知識產權盜竊行爲，有必要對價值340億美元的中國商品加徵關稅。

Details about the visa restrictions remain murky. At a June 6 Senate hearing, Edward J. Ramotowski, the deputy assistant secretary for visa services at the State Department, confirmed that new screening instructions were given to American embassies and consulates “to deal with certain individuals from China.”

簽證限制的細節仍然模糊。在6月6日的參議院聽證會上，美國國務院負責簽證事務的副助理國務卿愛德華·J·拉莫托夫斯基(Edward J. Ramotowski)證實，美國大使館和領事館已收到“針對中國某些個人”的新的審查操作指南。

He did not disclose which areas of study would be subject to additional scrutiny, but The Associated Press has reported that the restrictions focus on robotics, aviation and high-tech manufacturing — areas where China has pushed to bolster its presence in the global market. The Bureau of Consular Affairs declined to comment on the specifics of the changes.

雖然他沒有透露哪些研究領域將受到進一步的審查，但美聯社報道稱，新的限制主要針對機器人、航空和高技術製造業，中國一直在全球市場上努力擴大自己在這些領域的影響力。領事事務局(Bureau of Consular Affairs)拒絕就這些變化的細節發表評論。

The American Council on Education has questioned how the policy will be carried out, said Terry Hartle, a senior vice president at the organization. Would someone taking a course in aviation, for example, be vetted the same way as someone majoring in the subject?

美國教育委員會(American Council on Education)對如何實施這項政策一直有疑問，委員會高級副會長特里·哈特爾(Terry Hartle)說。比如，選修一門航空學課程的學生，會受到與主修該專業的學生一樣的審查嗎？

“We called the Department of Homeland Security the day it was announced and said, ‘Can we talk about this?’ And they said, ‘Sure, we can, but we’re reading about it the same way you are, so we got to figure it out ourselves,’” he said.

“我們在國土安全部宣佈這一政策的當天打電話問他們，‘我們能討論一下這件事嗎？’他們說，‘當然可以，但我們看到的東西跟你們看到的一樣，所以我們得自己琢磨這是什麼意思，’”哈特爾說。

With the contours of the policy still unclear, educators and researchers are trying to assess how it will affect the way they work.

由於政策的輪廓仍不清晰，教育工作者和研究人員們正在試圖評估政策將如何影響他們的工作方式。

Trevor Darrell, a director of the Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Research laboratory, said that the restrictions would be “a significant and unfortunate inconvenience for many group members,” but that they would not “fundamentally change” the lab’s ability to do research.

伯克利人工智能研究實驗室(Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Research laboratory)主任特雷弗·達雷爾(Trevor Darrell)說，這些限制措施會“給許多團隊成員帶來巨大的、令人遺憾的不便”，但不會“從根本上改變”其實驗室開展研究的能力。

Others fear the policy could have a bigger impact.

其他人則擔心政策可能產生更大的影響。

The American science, technology, engineering and math community, particularly at top-tier universities, heavily relies on foreign applicants to bolster its research, said Richard M. Voyles, director of the Purdue Robotics Accelerator.

普渡機器人加速器(Purdue Robotics Accelerator)項目主管理查德·M·沃義爾斯(Richard M. Voyles)說，美國的科學、技術、工程和數學等領域的研究嚴重依賴外國的申請者，尤其是在一流大學裏。

Finding qualified students to replace the Chinese researchers in his lab would prove particularly challenging, Mr. Voyles said. “I have an extremely hard time getting even one American to apply to my lab,” he said.

沃義爾斯說，找到能取代他實驗室裏的中國研究人員的合格學生，將是十分困難的。“找到一個申請我實驗室的美國人都很困難，”他說。

But Yangyang Cheng, a Chinese particle physicist and postdoctoral research associate at Cornell University, suspects that more common than researchers being deterred from attending American universities will be researchers returning home soon after earning a degree — a “self-inflicted wound” that only furthers China’s technological and military ambitions.

但是，康奈爾大學(Cornell University)的中國博士後、從事粒子物理研究的程洋洋（音）懷疑，受新政策影響更多的將是在美國獲得學位後不久就回國的研究人員，而不是要來美國唸書的人，這種“自傷”只會助長中國在技術和軍事方面的野心。

“Home as in still China, because they would see that the U.S. would never see them as one of their own,” Ms. Cheng said, “that they’re spies, guilty until proven innocent.”

“他們的家仍在中國，因爲他們會看到，美國永遠不會把他們視爲自身社會的一員，”程洋洋說，“他們會被視爲間諜，被做了有罪推定。”